In An Eternal Circle
by Alice in a Hole
Summary: The first was a boy with a smile so warm it burned. Then there was the boy with a heart of ice. The last was a girl that desparately wished that the darkness would rise up and swallow her whole. Continued from episode 8. Rated T for blood and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Í Eilífri Hring (In an Eternal Circle)

The trio stood in a circle, taking in the surroundings of the abandoned and broken arcade that was now their new home.

"Well, we can play all the games we want. It's pretty good, isn't it?" The first was the boy with a smile so warm it burned.

"You know who's fault this is, right?" Then there was the boy with a heart of ice.

His gaze was accusing and her eyes fell downcast. The last was a girl with yellow-undertones standing in their shadows.

Lisa peered at the floor, desparately wishing that the darkness of the unlit room would rise up and swallow her whole.

"Mine..."

Twelve leaned dangerously over the railing upstairs, perhaps only a centimeter from completely toppling over. He observed the scene below him.

"I'm sorry."

Nine left without a response. The room took on a sudden coldness.

Twelve watched Lisa's aura turn black.

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><p>They remained long after Lisa had left. Twelve with his back propped up against the arcade machine and Nine sitting down on a stool across from him.<p>

"Huh?" Twelve's tone was confused. "You still want to use the atomic bomb?"

"It's not just me. Have you forgotten we were in this together?"

"I didn't mean it like that Nine. I just thought that we would just..."

"If only we had taken Five into consideration, but with this we still have a fighting chance."

Twelve's frown remained concealed within the dark room. He was concerned for Nine. His best friend's mind was sick, just like their former friend Five. An atomic bomb would not lead to acceptance from the rest of the world. Even though it would be deliberately detonated in space as a means of inducing an electromagnetic pulse, the world would still think that it was an attempt of mass-genocide. They would write off the bomb's explosion in space instead of on earth as a technological malfunction, an incredible stroke of luck, perhaps even an act of God for the ones that still believed in the existance of a miracle. They would not thank Nine for wiping out technology just so he could show them the beautiful things in life that we have long forgotten. Things like how the pure, unadulterated night sky used to look before its contamination from the quotidian, artificiality of man. He would only be a heretic before their eyes. They would hunt him down, with hatred in their hearts and murder on their minds.

"Her appearance only means for us to accelerate the execution of our plan."

"I see."

Nine could see right through Twelve. His charcoal eyes bore up through black rimmed glasses at Twelve's ash brown ones.

"What's wrong?"

The advice that Nine had given Twelve rang in his head. _Don't get attached. _

"Nothing." Twelve lied without missing a beat, suddenly standing up. "Hey, Nine..."

"Hm?"

Twelve couldn't look Nine in the eye. "I was thinking... Maybe we should stop doing this..."

"Stop doing this?" Nine repeated in disbelief.

"If we continue on like this, we'll probably..."

Neither boy said it, but the word hung heavily in the air between the two._ Die._

"Are you scared?"

_Huh? Is that what it was?_

"Is it because of Lisa?" Nine's tone accusing. "Twelve, think back. Where did we come from?"

Twelve's mind traveled back down the dreary, concrete halls of the facility they grew up in. His memory flashed to the barbed wire fence outside the facility that had been at least three metres high. He and along with the other children had been standing in a line, being assigned their numbers. Depending, on what number they gave them determined how many times the nurses would have to inject a child per day. A nameless nurse, had wordlessly squeezed Twelve's shoulder as he watched Twenty-Six violently convulsing on the grass outside of the facility. When his eyes became glassy and blood ran out of his ears and mouth, only then did he still.

"There's something we have to do." Nine's cold voice brought Twelve back to reality. "Do you plan on forgetting that place?"

Nine changed tactics noticing his lack of effect on Twelve. "One wrong step, and Lisa would've been killed by that bomb on the airplane."

Nine's words were sharp enough to cut through stone. They cut straight to Twelve's heart.

"We shouldn't involve her in this anymore."

"That might be true..." Twelve began. "But I love her."

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><p><em>**Disclaimer: I do not own Zankyou no Terror or any of the characters in the anime. The title of the story is a lyric from the song "Von" by Yoko Kanno.**<em>


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Zankyou no Terror or any of the characters in the anime. The title of this fanfic is a lyric from the song "Von" by Yoko Kanno.**_

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><p>"Don't be a fool, Twelve. You don't know what love is."<p>

"You don't know what it isn't." Twelve retorted, almost angrily.

Twelve noticed a paper taped to the wall as he exited the arcade.

_Sorry for always causing you trouble. Goodbye. _

_Lisa_

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><p>A couple blocks away, walked Lisa Mishima. She hadn't packed much. In her purse, was her cell phone, a change of clothes, about a weeks worth of instant noodles and a thermos. Lisa realized that in her haste she had forgotten to pack a blanket. She wasn't even wearing a sweater, Lisa angrily admonished herself noticing her pale yellow tee.<p>

_So stupid! This is the second time I've run away and I still can't do anything right!_

Lisa ran blindly through the Tokyo streets, tears stinging her eyes. She was only a burden to Nine and she didn't deserve Twelve's kindness. Suddenly, Lisa's sneaker caught on something and she flew crashing down.

"Ugh..."

A dark trail of blood trickled down Lisa's leg staining the top of her knee-highs red. This wouldn't have happened if she had grabbed Twelve's sweatpants instead of wearing her skirt that was the only bottom article of clothing she owned.

_I don't even deserve his pants. _

"Nice panties baby!" A drunken male hooted. "Sunflowers, who would have guessed? Can I deflower you?" Another laughed.

Lisa's cheeks flared. She tried to get up, but a surge of pain shot up her leg causing her to lose her balance. Someone grabbed her arm, helping her up midst her fall. "I'm sorry Miss, I didn't mean to trip you." The last thing Lisa could recall was a cloth being stuffed over her mouth... then darkness.

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><p>Twelve rushed out of the building, his motocycle helmet in hand and backpack in the other. In one swift move he jumped onto his motorcycle, slinging the helmet over his head. The yellow on his faceshield was clashing with Twelve's own orange waves of color. He could never wear a translucent faceshield, the peoples' colors around him would distract him too much. He was not like Nine, he broke under pressure. The yellow distorted the colors around him dulling the glare of their overwhelming radiance. All of the colors in the spectrum always seemed to want to take something from another. Reds screamed to be the center of attention, blues leeched off intimacy and greens always had to get even. Yellows waited patiently for recognition, but pale yellow, a much rarer shade never once demand anything. Yellow kept him calm... like Lisa.<p>

_**AN: I'll add more to this chap later, ipod dying... Enjoy _


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zankyou no Terror or any of the characters in the anime. The title of this fanfic is a lyric from the song "Von" by Yoko Kanno.**

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><p>Nine stretched back in a beat up plastic chair in the arcade's dead lobby. The chair's uncomfortable surface seemed to punish his aching body further. He rolled up the sleeve of his gray sweater. Trailing down his left arm glared 12 angry scars etched deep within his skin, not enough to kill, mere premonition. They were perfectly aligned horizontally no further than a centimeter apart and symmetrical to the other 11 scars on his right arm. It amounted to the 23 murdered children at the facility. Nine pulled out a Swiss army knife from his sock. He grazed it against his ulnar artery.<p>

_This one would be vertical. _Nine thought to himself.

"Don't do that." Said the voice of the girl with the sick spirit.

"You have destroyed everything." Nine accused.

Fragile, white wisps of hair danced across her thin face pallid and unreadable, making her way to Nine.

"God Nine. You still haven't changed." Five whispered. "Always blaming others for your own mistakes."

Her eyes were dead and yet had the life-force of one that could drain all of the light from a room. Her violet eyes held both darkness and light. Her white body the epitome of perfection and sin. She gently took the knife away from Nine.

"Always blaming yourself for others mistakes." Five pointed to the self-inflicted scars on his skin.

"21...22... 23. Isn't that adorable? You're cutting yourself for the weak, dead children."

"They weren't weak, they were innocent." Nine replied darkly.

"Would they have wanted you to destroy yourself for them?"

"It's my punishment for surviving. They were murdered without any explanation. No justice was served, so it can only be me-"

"Who cares?"

Nine finally looked in her eyes, angry at her selfish tone. He hated that his heart still beat for her after all these years. His trembled slightly under her intensity.

"Do you think anyone explained why I was raped everyday? Do you think all those politicians, judges... all those men in prestigious positions in society served any justice while they were fucking me?!"

Five held nothing, but hatred for the dark memories resurfacing.

"All they said was we just want to see your skin. Is it white down there and whatnot... Vile! Those disgusting, filthy monsters!"

"It's okay. You're safe now." Nine wrapped his arms around her, and Five dry-heaved, failing to vomit.

"I would kill them..."

Nine held her tighter and said nothing.

"I would make it slow.. And agonizing enough they would beg for death... the way I did."

Nine just nodded his head.

"I can't even cry you know. They took that away too. Never, I'll never forgive them."

Five crawled onto Nine's lap, straddling him.

"Just one last time okay?"

Nine hesitated, letting go of her shaking his head.

Her voice was so full of pain, terrified and tired like her cold, sickened spirit. She was beautiful.

"Please one last time... make the monsters go away."

Nine's hands fell onto her cold body and made her warm. Five breathed a sigh of relief.


End file.
